Margaret Thatcher's birthday plans cancelled due to ill health

Lady Thatcher, the former British prime minister, had to pull out of a planned visit to Downing Street, last night, which was due to take place to mark her 85th birthday.

Thatcher was due to be the guest of honour at an event hosted by the current UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, but was unable to attend as she is suffering from a bout of flu.

However, at Baroness Thatcher's request, the party - which was attended by her friends and colleagues - went ahead in her absence.

Among the 150 or so guests, there included a number of previous members of her cabinets, including those who were instrumental in her removal as prime minister in November 1990. A spokesperson for Cameron confirmed to BBC News that Thatcher would be invited to a separate celebration at Downing Street once she had fully recovered.

Despite having left office almost 20 years ago, Thatcher still casts a long shadow over politics in the UK. Shortly after Tony Blair became the first Labour prime minister for nearly two decades, in 1997, it was revealed that he had sought advice from Thatcher, but not the former Labour leader and prime minister, James Callaghan.